advertisement


What Power Amp

mickhick1

mickhick1

pfm Member
I am currently using a Parasound Halo A21 to drive my Tannoy Turnberry SEs, and it is excellent. Sonically I have no desire to change, but we are in the process of re-modelling our lounge and I want to use some enclosed furniture to house the hifi. The problem with the A21 is it's size, it is around 485mm deep and by the time you add on the projection of IEC plug and Speaker leads etc. it requires more than 500mm. Most available furniture is 400 - 450mm deep, necessitating cutting out the back board. It does also get quite warm, so not best suited to being enclosed.
So I am considering something a bit easier to accommodate, but still with plenty of grunt, particularly with regard to damping factor, as this suits the Turnberrys.
Any suggestions would be welcome, up to around £2K secondhand and to fund it I would sell on the A21.
 
Might be worth looking for an old Adcom. I used to have the little GFA535mkII and it was excellent. I hear great things about the bigger ones, and you could afford to buy one and have it serviced for well under your budget.
 
Last edited:
You'll struggle to get a better sounding amp, neutral, low distortion within the usual suspects.

The tiny benchmark AHB2 will do the business, but will lose a bit of the warmth of the A21.
 
I wouldn't worry about high damping factor. Virtually all SS amps have what can be considered a high damping factor and it's significance rapidly diminishes as DF goes up... in practice a DF of 1000 means only say 1% more damping than a DF of 50. DF's of <1 to say 20 are where all the action is as far as changes in sound due to damping of bass resonance etc of woofer goes.
 
booja30 said:
Might be worth looking for an old Adcom. I used to have the little GFA535mkII and it was excellent. I hear great things about the bigger ones, and you could afford to buy one and have it serviced for well under your budget.
Click to expand...

Actually, the 535 is reckoned to be the "sweet spot" for the smaller power amps, reckoned to be better sounding by many than the 545 and 555's (please bear in mind I'm talking strictly about the vintage amps here; Adcom have recently re-used some of their more notable model numbers). I've got a vintage 555 here - well, my ex/flatmate currently has custody, but I have visiting rights - and it's a fine amp nonetheless. I also have a pair of 565 monoblocks, and a pair of 585le stereo power amps, I think being honest that I prefer the 565's sound (they are somewhat modified) but the 585's are more practical in terms of equipment racking. My main system already spreads across 2 racks, the 565's would have been a step too far.

Adcom pre-amps are largely overhyped - especially the GFP-565, which has a cult following (yep, got one of those, and a 555 pre as well). Their pre-amps (with the exception of the Pass-designed passive one - 750 iirc) do not live up to the standards set by the power amps.
 
My first new amp purchase when I was in high school was that 535mkII. It went with a nice NAD 1600 tuner preamp. I later wished I had gone full NAD or full Adcom. Since I’m moving back to the states maybe I’ll give them a try. 555 pre and 535mkII amp…
 
booja30 said:
My first new amp purchase when I was in high school was that 535mkII. It went with a nice NAD 1600 tuner preamp. I later wished I had gone full NAD or full Adcom. Since I’m moving back to the states maybe I’ll give them a try. 555 pre and 535mkII amp…
Click to expand...

If you're talking the NEW Adcom gear, maybe - haven't had a chance to listen to any. But I know from bitter experience and a lot of mixing and matching of pre-amps and power amps that you probably had the ideal combination right there. IIRC the 1600 tuner pre had the pre circuitry that went into the 3020a, from experimentation I remember that a lot of the enthusiastic musicality that amp had was in the pre-amp section. I removed the links and used a 3020 a(I think it was the a...) as pre-amp for a cambridge P500. I'd be willing to bet that combo you had was as musically enthusiastic as a wriggly puppy, with plenty of life and bounce - I reckon it would have sounded lovely, if not being the most analytical.

I'd use Adcom power amps all day long, but their pre-amps? nossir.

I've used a NAD 3020 last year with a 545II, and it was a surprisingly good combo. It's a shame I sold the NAD, but the 545 is now partnered with a 555 pre-amp and some castle speakers, it's doing ok :D
 
Arkless Electronics said:
I wouldn't worry about high damping factor. Virtually all SS amps have what can be considered a high damping factor and it's significance rapidly diminishes as DF goes up... in practice a DF of 1000 means only say 1% more damping than a DF of 50. DF's of <1 to say 20 are where all the action is as far as changes in sound due to damping of bass resonance etc of woofer goes.
Click to expand...

that puts the damping factor of the adcom amps in perspective. From what you're saying, above a certain level it's a marketing statistic and not much more? Puts the ">2000" adcom were quoting for the original 565s into a new light :( Still love them though :)
 
Had a quick look on ebay:-
Gato Audio DIA-250S integrated amplifier with DAC | eBay - I put this in simply because of the smaller case
EWA M-50 power amplifier | eBay - I could not find the dimensions
Stereo Power Amplifier - Lindemann Musicbook 55 - RRP £3999 | eBay
Nuprime ST-10 Power Amplifier | eBay and a review to go with it NuPrime ST-10 power amp | HFA - The Independent Source for Audio Equipment Reviews (hifi-advice.com)

Good luck in your search to find the right on for you, and of course your Turnbury's
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Emotiva?

I own their large chassis amps, but I think they now have some compact models?

Also, my understanding is that many class D amps tend to be physically small and run very cool.
 
I've owned all the older Adcoms. I'd say the 545-2 was my favorite - more authority and grip than the 535/535-2, slightly smoother than the 555 or 555-2. All were good. Also had 565 monos briefly; they were also very good.

I'd agree that the Adcom preamps were not up to the standard set by the power amps - I think the best budget system I had was a NAD 1300 with a 545-2. Of course, I was (very) young then, so could be completely wrong.

All that said, an A21 is a very good amp. I'd echo the Class D suggestions - lots of power and damping factor in small, cool, efficient casework. I had a pair of PS Audio M700s and liked a lot of what they did.
 
Would 90 degree plugs do enough?

Especially in this weather i'd be cutting out a lot of the back anyway unless you're going Class D.

There's also the option of turning it sideways, iirc, esp with plugs, it'll be deeper than wide so you might save a couple of inches
 
Bob Edwards said:
I've owned all the older Adcoms. I'd say the 545-2 was my favorite - more authority and grip than the 535/535-2, slightly smoother than the 555 or 555-2. All were good. Also had 565 monos briefly; they were also very good.

I'd agree that the Adcom preamps were not up to the standard set by the power amps - I think the best budget system I had was a NAD 1300 with a 545-2. Of course, I was (very) young then, so could be completely wrong.

All that said, an A21 is a very good amp. I'd echo the Class D suggestions - lots of power and damping factor in small, cool, efficient casework. I had a pair of PS Audio M700s and liked a lot of what they did.
Click to expand...
I did a full refurbish on a Nad 1300 and to me, this little preamp is almost impossible to beat for the price. Some components inside (not all of them) are very high quality (polystyrene capacitors IIRC) and it’s a very good sounding pre for the price on the used market. If I was on a tight budget, this would be my first choice.
 
Lots of suggestions, mostly Class D, which I'm not averse to.
Might consider a Linn, I know Jez doesn't rate them, also, in a similar vein to the A21, but crucially a bit smaller, there are a couple of Rotel amps which look to be good value, Roksan too.
If anyone was considering selling a nice Avondale amp, I would be interested.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top